At the end of the Hebrew story of Ruth is a baby boy born in the town of Bethlehem. The original ancient story as found in Scripture, as well as this stage adaptation, ends with a geneology leading to King David of Israel. This genealogy includes the heroes from this story, namely Boaz and Ruth, as well as their baby boy Obed, who was grandfather of King David. This adaptation, however, continues this Davidic lineage by jumping to King David’s descendant, Joseph and his wife Mary, a woman who also gives birth to a baby boy in Bethlehem. That baby’s name, of course, was Jesus.
This clear connection and obvious parallel to the birth of Jesus was part of the inspiration to adapt the story of Ruth as a Christmas show. One might call it a Jesus origin story. Following in that holiday spirit, traditional Christmas carols were then woven into this narrative. The select carols are not only rooted in a traditional celebration for this holiday, but the lyrics also lend themselves to the actions and emotions germane to specific moments within this story. The chosen Christmas carols are then experienced as both immediately relevant to the story of Ruth, but also prophetically pertinent to the foreshadowing of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Additionally, the moments where these traditional Christmas carols appear also provide a way for the audience to participate in the performance. Each Christmas carol is sung by our “Angel”, as well as our choir of "Angels" (the audience). Adding to that, the audience also participates as various other characters in the story, namely the people and elders of Bethlehem. Nobody in the audience is put on the spot or forced to come on stage, but these opportunities are simply offered as a way for members of the audience to participate in the show in a light, undemanding, and hopefully fun way.
The cast for this adaptation is made up of only 5 actors, two of whom are double-cast. Since the story calls for large crowds, such as the People of Bethlehem, the Harvesters, and the Elders of Bethlehem, the audience is given an additional way to participate in the performance. At certain moments, lines for the characters of large crowds (i.e., People of Bethlehem) are displayed for the audience to recite. For example, when Boaz arrives at his barley field in Act One Scene 4, he addresses the audience as his Harvesters, saying, “The LORD be with you,” to which the audience as the Harvesters respond, “And the LORD bless you!” Moments like this happen several times throughout the show.
